There is no Mumbaikar who doesn’t know what the Shiv Sena is. Ask anyone in Mumbai what the Shiv Sena is and you can be sure of getting the answer. Such a question is undoubtedly going to elicit varied responses from the masses on what they think of the Shiv Sena, but know the Sena they will.
Bal Keshav Thackeray more commonly known as Balasaheb Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena on 19 June, 1966. Balasaheb worked as a cartoonist with the Free Press Journal in Mumbai at the beginning of his career. At that time there was a huge influx of labor coming from South-India and Gujarat, which Balasaheb was sorely against. He believed that Maharashtra was for the Maharashtrians. So strong was his opposition to migrants coming to Mumbai that he launched a weekly cartoon Marmik which campaigned against migrant labor in Mumbai. He then launched the anti - communist Shiv Sena party literally meaning Shivaji’s Army which aimed to protect the Marathi man’s rights and help in his progress. The Sena Bhavan at Dadar in Mumbai has long served as the headquarters of the Shiv Sena. The Sena has its local offices in numerous cities across India where each of the offices must look after the issues in their own cities. Today the party is led by Balasaheb’s son, Udhhav Thackeray.
The Shiv Sena has been a part of controversies since its inception. In its early days the party targeted South-Indians in Mumbai. It launched a series of attacks on Udipi restaurants which were all owned by South Indians. Guajarati’s and Marwari’s were targeted next by Balasaheb through his speeches. It is alleged that the Sena played an active role in the Mumbai riots following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodya. The commission formed under Justice B N Srikrishna indicted the party for instigating and actively participating in anti-Muslim riots. Balasaheb was accused of instigation but later absolved of all charges in 2000. Likewise, most of the party workers were also absolved of all charges in 2008. Recently, the Sena has targeted the migrant labor coming to Mumbai from the northern states of India. The party has long been of the opinion that the Marathi man has not been getting his due from the government. It has carried out agitations, vandalized shops owned by people from the north and in some cases even ruthlessly beaten up migrant labor. The party also strongly opposes the use of any other language but Marathi in Maharashtra. Shops have been vandalized for displaying their names in English and men have been beaten up for not knowing to speak Marathi. Shiv Sainiks feel that this is justified. “And why shouldn’t every person wishing to work in Mumbai not know Marathi?” asks a Shiv Sainik who wishes to remain anonymous. “When we go to America for work, we talk to Americans in English, not French. Why shouldn’t these northerners know Marathi then?” he asks indignantly again.
The controversies don’t end here. Raj Thackeray, nephew of Balasaheb Thackeray, was once an integral part of the Shiv Sena. Many people said that he had all of Balasaheb’s leadership qualities. However when Balasaheb announced his intentions to make son Udhhav Thackeray the sole heir to the Shiv Sena, Raj Thackeray broke away from the Sena and floated his party called the Maharashtra Navarirman Sena. The Thackeray cousins have been at logger heads ever since.
The Sena is accused by the common man of forcing its will on them on a number of occasions. The Sena has been against the celebration of Valentine’s Day in colleges across Mumbai. It is even against couples holding hands on that day. Not just this, when the Sena feels that a particular movie shows inappropriate content, it simply destroys the theatre’s property making it impossible to show any further shows of that movie. In 1998 the Sena considered the movie Fire which depicted lesbianism, to be against Hinduism and vandalized theatres showing the movie. “I really don’t appreciate being told by the Sena what to do and what to watch. I live in a democratic country and I have the right to decide”, says college student Neeti Puri.
It is wrong to say that the Sena has not done any good at all to the state of Maharashtra. The Mumbai-Pune expressway and most of the 55 flyovers in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai were constructed during the Sena regime. It also made public transport very efficient. In spite of this, support to the Sena has been gradually declining over the last two years. It is probably time for the Sena to change its stand. It is also probably time for the Marathi manoos to make his stand clear.
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References:
The Hindu. (2001, August 17). Volume 18 issue 16. Retrieved August 03, 2010 from http://www. hinduonnet.com
Sunday Pioneer. (2010, February 14). Shiv Sena’s Nemesis. Retrieved August 03, 2010 from http://www.dailypioneer.com
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